If you are signing up for Swagbucks today, make sure you use the new member code at the bottom of this page when you register with Swagbucks to score bonus SB points.

New to Swagbucks?

If you don't know about Swagbucks yet, it's the largest rewards website that gives people free gift cards for the things they do online (searching, shopping, watching videos, playing games and more). You earn points called SB for online activities and then you can cash them in for gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, Walmart, CVS, Lowes, Starbucks, Paypal, Bass Pro Shops, Kohl's and so many more! It's free to join and I have earned a bunch of gift cards in the many years I have been a member.

How do you get these SB points? There are lots of ways.

* Search online: Each time you need to search for something online, use the Swagbucks search engine on their website (instead of Google). I actually have the Swagbucks toolbar installed on my desktop and it places a search box right on my screen making it super easy to search. Every once in a while, they award SB points just for doing the searches I used to do using Google.

* Use their online shopping portal (I do most of my online shopping at major retailers who are part of the Swagbucks Shop and Earn program (like Amazon.com, Kohls.com, Walmart.com and more) and earn Swagbucks every time I shop. Just this week, I was credited with 562 SB points (worth $5.62 in gift cards) for an online purchase I made a few weeks ago.

* Play games

* Participate in special Swag Code events

* Enter the daily Swag Code (which we usually let you know about here on the blog each day). Swagbucks posts bonus codes on their Facebook, Twitter and blog pages each day. If you have the Swagbucks Mobile App, it will buzz when there is a new code. When the code becomes available each day, one of us posts it here on the blog so we can all get it. The codes are only valid for an hour usually. Once you get the code, you then copy and paste the code into the Swag Code box at the top of the homepage of Swagbucks.com. Look for the circle with the words Swag Code next to it.

New member bonus Swagbucks sign-up code!

As I posted above, new members get a 70 SB bonus when you sign up HERE. To get the bonus SB points, click the text that reads "I have a sign up code" during registration and then enter the code: SMARTSHOPPER to get the bonus. Make sure you use all caps since it is case sensitive.

Faye Prosser -WRAL Smart ShopperApr 9, 2016

Amomoftwo- congrats on cashing in your first SB points! Are you saying you want to buy something at a store that does not have a gift card option in the rewards store on Swagbucks? If so, I would get Paypal and then once the $ is put in your paypal account, transfer it to your bank account and you can spend it anywhere.

You can also get a Visa Virual gift card if the item you want to buy is online. Here is the wording from Swagbucks:

"Your Prepaid Visa Reward Card will be delivered to you in the form of a Promocode. Redeem your promocode for a Visa Virtual Account, ready for use instantly. Use your account wherever Visa Debit is accepted online, over the phone or for mail-in orders. "

If neither of those work for you, get a gas gift card, use it to pay for your gas and then use the money you would have spent for gas (but did not have to because you had a Swagbucks gift card for it) to buy the item you wanted. I have cashed out for Sheetz gift cards many times. I hope that helps!

AmomoftwoApr 9, 2016

I am ready to cash in my first Swagbucks and I want to purchase an item that isn't available through Swagbucks...what's the best way to cash out? I wasn't sure what was the best procedure.